Luke Mitzel is a sixth year doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Program at Syracuse University.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Vanable, and with the guidance of Dr. Stephen Maisto, Luke's research interests have broadly focused on sexual risk and sexual health. His early work examined psychosocial and behavioral aspects of HIV treatment among people living with HIV, including HIV-related stigma, depressive symptoms, and medication adherence. This work progressed naturally to HIV prevention research, in which he examined alcohol use and sexual behaviors as risk factors for HIV transmission. Currently, Luke's disseration project has continued this line of research by examining sexual-decision making and other health behaviors among college students.

Luke plans to use his health psychology clinical and research training from Syracuse University to pursue a career serving veterans by working at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He is particularly interested in primary care mental health integration (PCMHI), a model in which psychologists embedded in a medical setting provide behavioral health services and same-day access to brief, problem-focused care.

Outside of graduate school, Luke enjoys being active through hiking, CrossFit, and road races.